Ukrainian protester kidnapped, tortured

Kiev, Jan 31: A Ukrainian opposition activist, who went missing last week, said he was kidnapped and tortured before being left to die.

Dmytro Bulatov, 35, who organised an anti-government protest against President Viktor Yanukovych, went missing Jan 22.

Bulatov was discovered outside Kiev Thursday. He said his kidnappers beat him severely, nailed him to a cross, sliced off a piece of ear and cut his face. He was kept in the dark all the time. After more than a week of beatings they finally dumped him in a forest, The Guardian reported Friday.

At least three protesters and three police officers have been killed and many injured since the protests turned violent Jan 22.

The opposition spilled onto the streets in November last year after Yanukovych abandoned a trade deal with the European Union in favour of closer economic ties with Russia.

Negotiations between the authorities and the opposition have appeared to stall but US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet key opposition leaders on the sidelines of a security conference starting in Munich Friday.